Riding along Heritage Lines in Central Vietnam for timeless stories of history and culture. The riding routs are twisting into some parts of Ho Chi Minh trails but can be conquered by most of motor bikers even at the beginner stage. Our special motorbiking adventure in Central Vietnam takes you to the untouched town and very less known paths connecting from Hue to Hoi an while giving you chances of enjoying motor riding experience and informative itinerary.

Day 01: Arrival Hue - City Tour – Phuoc Tich Ancient Village

Arrival at Phu Bai airport, Active Travel Asia tour guide will pick you up and transfer you to Hue city to visit Citadel and Tomb of Tu Duc King. You will have a lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, our guide will take you to Phuoc Tich. The ancient village of Phuoc Tich is surrounded by O Lau River, bordering with Quang Tri Province and around 40 km north of Hue city. It is considered an untouched and valuable ancient village, not only in Central Vietnam but the whole country as well. It remains 27 “Nha Ruong - nhà Rường” (Hue’s old style houses) and gardens, 12 of which own architecturally and aesthetically special values.

Visit the village on foot, some typical ancient houses, meet & chat with the local people, a pottery workshop, learn about the manufacturing process of pottery items by local artisans.

Return Hue with visiting around the city. Overnight in Hue city

Summary:

Transport: AC vehicle

Meal included: Breakfast, Lunch

Motorcycling: No

Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

Day 02: Hue motorcycling to traditional villages

Our motorbike tour will be started from Hue by riding along the floating village on the Perfume River to Bao Vinh ancient town, once as the busy international trading port in the Nguyen Dynasty. Passing the Hue’s China Town then across the Bao Vinh River – a branch of the Perfume River to Sinh Village – which is famous for its’ traditional paper paintings, you will meet the artists of the village before learning how to make the painting from the traditional materials. The products made under the guidance of the artists will be yours as a souvenir. Try your best to make them nice!

A short talking with the villagers at Thanh Tien, who specialized in making a paper flower, will show you why the Hue people still decorate their ancestral altars with paper flowers.

Keep riding on the green shaded roads to Thanh Toan tile-roofed Bridge with some stops at street markets for experiencing the local life. On arrival, enjoy the local lunch served by the women from Communal Women Union in the village. Afterward, a lesson of learning the agricultural skills and tools (plows, sickles, hoes, rice-hulling mills…) performed by the 80-year-old lady (2011) brings to you a unique lesson in Vietnam. Walk around the village to see the daily life of the kind-heart people. Return the city within contemplating the Sunset in the paddy field. Overnight in Hue city

Summary:

Meal included: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: hotel in Hue city

Day 03: Motorcycling from Hue passing A Luoi to Prao town

Heading out of Hue on highway 49 to Aluoi town we ride up to the top of Ma Oi pass, stop for swimming at Mau waterfall and see the handicraft sewing of the Van Kieu ethnic minority, at noon we will arrive at A Luoi town for having lunch.

After lunchtime, we spend the whole afternoon on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a legendary road in the wartime. You will feel free and relaxed with beautiful landscapes, amazing views from the top of mountains, get off the main road trekking on the real dirt trail, visiting some ethnic minority villages that live along Ho Chi Minh Trail. In the afternoon we will arrive in Prao town.

You will stay 1 night in Prao town, free time walking around the mountain town at night and relaxation in the quiet town

Summary:

Meal included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Prao town

Day 04: Motorcycling from Prao town to Hoian

After breakfast, we go down to the pass to go to Da Nang city. On the way you can visit the Ethnic minority village, you can see their house and take the picture (through some picture let’s meet them, talk with, then see them and try to understand them) after that we will visit the Tea fields. Then we continue going down the pass to go to Danang Beach and Marble mountain. In the afternoon we will arrive in Hoian town. We are free time to visit the town. Overnight in Hoian

Summary:

Meal included: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi an

Day 05: Motorcycling to My Son - Hoi an

We will travel on quiet countryside lanes, where only motorbikes can travel, avoiding the traffic on Vietnamese Highways. Firstly we are stopping at the Cham tower 11th-century building as well as visiting historic American war sites.

Then we go to My Son Holy land, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whilst there we will visit the historic Hindu temples and see the unique methods of building that was used to construct the temple towers of the Cham Pa people. On the way back to Hoi An, we will also ride across the “floating bridge” and see local farmers working in their fields, stop at traditional village and see how friendly local families make sleeping mats by hand, we continue riding through rice fields and crossing 300 meter Bamboo bridge, enjoy beautiful landscape before arriving back in Hoi An. Our motorcycling tour in Vietnam Central ends up Hoi An hotel arrival.

Summary:

Meal included: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: NA

Note on client safety

We reserve the right to deviate from this itinerary for any reasons, including road and weather conditions, frequency of visits to a village, or for any other factor which may influence client safety.

All tours are private. No joined-in, customized. No fixed dates. (except Amazing Thailand on Motorbike)You can customize to pick one or some most favorite sections.The price - if not customized - is fixed. No hidden cost, no surprised.We are full licensed operator and only work with similar legal status partners. It's adventurous, not riskyMany discounts available from May to Sep. Minimum surcharges on peak days (Xmas, New Year etc)Still questions?! Please contact usor email: info@activetravel.asia

What is Included

Semi-automatic gear Honda 125CC

Best Rated Hotel Accommodations twin share

Unlimited Mileage

Helmets for the driver and passenger

Daily breakfast

Other meals as indicated in itinerary

Professional English speaking tour guide

Water & Snacks on driving days

First-aid kit

All taxes, fees, and environmental surcharges

Mechanic and support truck as in indicated price option

What is NOT Included

Travel insurance

Visa process and stamp

Tips and gratitude

Transportation between hotel and location (restrictions may apply at certain locations)

Gasoline average US$ 10 per day

Personal expenses

Personal motorbike protection gears

Mechanic and support truck

Bike Upgrade: Suzuki DRZ 400 CC

Others not mentions

THIS ADVENTURE INFORMATION
Duration: 5 days, 4 nights
Depart from: Hue - End at: Hoi an
Transportation: Honda 125CC (semi-automatic gear)
Guide: English speaking guide
Support crew: Support vehicle, Mechanic
Accommodation: Hotels, guesthouseMOTORCYCLING GRADE
Motorcycling grade: Moderate Grade that means this tour involve in active, physical-required activities can be up to 4 - 5 hours a day at a steady pace. The tour is going to involve a considerable amount of ascent or descent under different weather conditions. Support facilities may not be available on-site and there are some occasional difficult days. You will need a good level of fitness.

* Suggested preparation: 30 - 45 minutes of aerobic, physical exercise, 3-4 times per week for a few weeks leading up to your adventure are recommended.

Surfaces: rolling or mountainous terrain with some steep ascents/descents and uneven trails

Elevation change: up to 3,000 ft/day (about 900m)

Altitude: up to 8,000 ft (about 2500m))

MEALS AND FOOD
- Day 1-2: Breakfast, Lunch
- Day 3: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Day 4-5: Breakfast, Lunch
All meals, which are indicated in the itinerary, are included in the price of this trip. While in big towns we will enjoy Vietnamese cuisine in fine restaurants. Once we travel away from big towns, the emphasis will be on healthy and nutritious fresh local produce.

HOTELS AND HOMESTAY
In big towns we use fine 3-star hotels with center location. Please contact us if you prefer higher hotel categories.
In remote areas we use the best hotels or guest houses available.
Home stay in villages is simple in term of bedding and amenities condition. We will sleep on beds or floor with mattress, clean sheet, pillows and mosquito nets.

OUR MOTORBIKING TOUR GUIDEThe tour will be led by one of our tour guides who are experienced in guiding motorcycling tours in Vietnam. He has been carefully selected and trained in this field and is fully licensed in tour guiding by the government. In addition, he has been trained in first-aid by SOS International and he knows how to deal with difficult situations. You will have a great time traveling with him.

THE MOTORCYCLING DAYSA typical motorcycle riding day starts at about 8.30 am after breakfast. Lunch times can vary depending on the distance. We aim to reach the next overnight stop by 5 or 5.30pm During the riding we will have short breaks for rest, snack and photographing.

MOTORBIKES AND UPGRADE

Due to the road condition in Central Vietnam, we offer Honda 125CC by default. You even can take this tour with Scooter if you do not feel comfortable with the gear shifting.
Dirt Bikes are not necessary for this adventures.We strongly encourage you contact to our team if you are unsure about which type of motorbikes suit you best.

SUPPORT VEHICLE

Vietnam with various terrain and great scenery is an ideal place for adventure motorcycling. Although it is so fun and adventurous to ride in Vietnam it is surely a challenge for any foreign rider since the traffic is so different from the rest of the world. Moreover, we want everyone to enjoy their motorbiking experience on this trip and we recognize the importance of group members being allowed to ride at their own pace. At times there can be a fair distance between the front and rear riders in the group, with the support vehicle and tour leader out of sight. The support vehicle will pick up any group members who wish to take a break from motorcycling at any time.

Note on client safetyWe reserve the right to deviate from this itinerary for any reasons, including road and weather conditions or for any other factor which may influence client safety.

We use Future Neo 2009 125CC in this quotation by default. The reason is that the neat and very good design by Honda Vietnam is perfectly suitable for Vietnam road paths. The gear shift is changed easily and smoothly. This models can give you good experiences over almost motorcycling paths of Vietnam. Honda Future Neo is our choice in the quotation as its very affordable price, popular spare parts, easy-to-control even for motorcycling beginners

If you pick the price option Incl. Mechanic and Support truck, we will supply:

Support truck will pick up any group members who wish to take a break from motorcycling at any time.

01 professional mechanic along the motorbiking trip who greatly understand the technical issues and fix our motorbikes as manufacturer's requirements. That will maximize your safety and the duration of our motorbikes usages.

Original passport – compulsory, of course, you have to declare several times and always keep it in a safest place. Copying your passport for daily usages and putting the original one into a plastic bag is strongly recommended.

This Tour Category FAQs

Do I need travel insurance?

Yes, it is a must, especially for taking adventures. The insurance companies in Vietnam don’t cover if you don’t have Vietnamese driving licenses, which require you a 6-months resident visa as a minimum, plus many paperwork and time to wait. Then we strongly recommend you should buy a travel insurance from your home country. The names that the riders going with us suggested are QBE, Allianz etc.

How the traffic in Vietnam is?

First comes first, Vietnam is the country with the law of right-hand-side riding. That means you keep on the right-hand side and take over on the left-hand side whilst joining the traffic.

You often hear traffic in Vietnam is crazy, hectic, fun or even dangerous. On Vietnam roads, especially inside main cities, motorbikes are the king. That’s why ActiveTravel ASIA select quiet and countryside roads for our Vietnam motorcycle tours. The first reason is your safety, the second and maybe many other following reasons after that are the sceneries and challenging hardship. Once you get out the cities, the traffic heaviness drops remarkably. However, we still ask you drive slowly and carefully because there are obstacles possibly jumping out the roads.

To support your safety riding, we always include a tour guide who are local and very experienced of motorcycling tours. The tour guide is not only your friendly accompany but a safety instructor for your whole tours with us.

What have I to do if I got an accident?

First of all, stay calm and notice our guide immediately, because our guide is always around you. Our guides are trained to call us in an eye blink and deal with the situation. Don’t panic, don’t ever get any offensive action to the locals, just leave the situation to our guides and our staffs. We will try our best to find a way to settle it down before the traffic police involving.

This is very strange in Vietnam that when an accident happened, the compensation often comes from the bigger vehicles regardless of right or wrong sides eg: drivers pay to motorbikes, motorbikes pay to cyclist etc. That sounds ridiculous but “when you are in Rome, do as Roman does”. If the police got involved, they would tow away all related vehicles, take paper works and you have to wait the whole time until an official outcome.

Then once again, we strongly emphasize that you should stay calm, leave this to our tour guide and staffs. If you are requested to pay a small amount of money by the end, don’t be surprised even if you are right.

Do I need international driving license?

Even though, in Aug 2016, there was a decree by Vietnam government to recognize International Driving Permit (IDP), the detailed documents to guide of converting your foreign driving license into the accepted ones in Vietnam are a quite long way to implement smoothly and effectively. An IDP, if granted by a Vietnamese transport authority, will be valid in 85 countries which are contracting parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Then you should check whether your country joined the Convention or not? If yes, you can convert your driving license into IDP that is accepted in Vietnam. Please take your original license, your passport, some photos and a small fee to your transportation controlling authority in your home country to convert it.

In reality, the traffic warden hardly stops you for driving license checking due to their limit in English and no confident to handle with. We have just noticed the situation starts changing a bit in South Vietnam where police commence to stop foreigners for driving licenses.

What is the best time to ride? And why this time?

From Sep to Dec and from Feb to May annually. They are autumn and spring, early summer in Vietnam (refer more: best time to travel in Vietnam). This time is not too hot, not too cold and rather dry all over Vietnam for outdoor activities. Sep to Dec is harvesting seasons in mountainous areas where are famous for stunning terrace fields; Feb to May is spring, early summer that are full-bloomed seasons of hundred flowers along Vietnam.

Jan is nice for riding in Central and South Vietnam, but it is rather cold and foggy – in some years, it is freeze and snowy, in North Vietnam.

From May to Aug is rainy and stormy seasons. If you are ready to get wet, this time will be awesome with very sweet and big deals on price.

What are the best places you recommended?

For intermediate and experienced riders, North Loop Vietnam is the best with stunning, majestic scenery and challenging with twist turns, highest passes, sneaky and dirt trails. This is the haven of adventures in Vietnam. Top itineraries are North West route, North East challenge.

For all riders, riding Ho Chi Minh trail is undeniably the best. Depending on your time & physical level, the length of the tour can be vary. The road is quiet, less traffic; the ride is silky, smooth in many parts and the experience is combined with fantastic sceneries, historical and cultural stories.

I ride a big bike at my home, is 110 - 125CC able to tackle to Vietnamese roads?

Yes. Vietnamese road conditions and traffic awareness are the biggest obstacles for such big “beast” to roar their power. And another issue is that there are not many shops offering the bigger engine motorbike rentals because it is not cost-effective. The imported taxes to those motorbikes are very high that leads to the selling and renting prices rocket to the roof.

We often use 110 - 125CC by Honda, various models because they are strong enough to carry up to 2 riders, light enough to traverse and fantastic enough to control to have fun. Moreover, Honda is the biggest motor manufacturer in Vietnam, then you can easily find spare parts even in very remote areas. The minimum model is 110CC that is very affordable, while 125CC is our top recommended. (see some of our motor models)

How far should I book in advance?

As far as possible we recommend. The further you book, the easier and better services and prices you may get. As our Vietnam motorcycling tours are private, then you will have more time to customize and get consulted by our experts to find the best one suit your experiences.

We also can deal with last minutes booking (such as by Stephane – he came to our office in morning, booked and started his motorcycling to North West Vietnam in early afternoon – see how fun he got!). With such fast bookings, knowing well your time, budget, and interests will make everything work “smoothly as silk”

I travel alone, can I join a group?

We don’t provide joined a group tour for motorcycling in Vietnam until this time. All our tours are private and customized, then we will have you to tailor-made it until it fit your budget while relatively keep a good balance of a motorcycling adventure.

Don’t worry much about budget, leave everything for us. Just think about you in your all own, standing in front of majestic views – one bike one ride, you explore our Vietnam! That’s we often call a lifetime adventure.